Step 11
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.
Hello GROW! Welcome newcomers and congratulations to those celebrating milestones.
Step 11 is one that I practiced from the moment I found my sponsor. She emailed me a list of prayers and suggested I recite them every day. Eventually the list became a memorized mantra. In early days, reciting the prayers gave me the courage to leave my apartment and stand tall in social situations that terrified me.
Although I had no real experience with prayer, I prayed. There was no resistance on my part. I was desperate—I had no idea how to make my life “work.”
What I’ve learned through ongoing practice of Step 11 is that I don’t make my life work. My higher power does! When something disturbs me, I do what I can and let go of the rest, trusting that the outcome will, ultimately, be the best for all concerned.
The suggestion expressed in Step 11, that I work on connecting daily with a power beyond my understanding, has brought a measure of peace and faith to my life that I never expected.
Today I know that when I’m scared I’m not alone. My higher power is with me.
This program teaches me that I’m here to be of service to others, not build monuments to my ego. Practicing Step 11 has given me the confidence to know that I am enough and what I do is enough. And everything is going to work out. Although I couldn’t describe my HP to you, I’m grateful to have one. This, as it says in our literature, is a faith that works.
Please feel free to share on your experience of Step 11 or whatever else is going on in your Program this week.
Thanks for being on this journey with me.